Flashback to 2009: President Obama's "controversial" school speech

[DesertRat]

The right was outraged that President Obama was trying to indoctrinate children. School districts in six states refrained from showing the Presidential address.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/09/school-districts-in-six-states-to-refrain-from-showing-presidential-address-next-week.html

Read the transcript of this "controversial" back-to-school speech:
[Here's a snip]

That's why today, I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you'll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it. I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you're not going to be any of those things. But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject you study. You won't click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That's OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. JK Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understand that you can't let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

So today, I want to ask you, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-obamas-back-school-message-students/story?id=8509426

[madaboutharry]

1. They didn't want the black man talking to their kids.

2009 was an ugly year. All the haters came out of the woodwork in reaction to the election of President Obama.

[renate]

2. great point!

And what a great memory you have! I'd forgotten all about the absurd complaints about this speech.

[DesertRat]

5. I was teaching in an elementary school in a conservative area

I remember the outrage and parents keeping their children home from school so they wouldn't be "indoctrinated" by the new president.

[VigilantG]

3. Thank you for this post, DesertRat!

Much needed!

[DesertRat]

6. You're welcome!

I hope that people will share this speech and compare it to yesterday's disgusting display at the Boy Scout Jamboree.

[VigilantG]

7. Agreed! This is awful what happened yesterday.

I already ranted on another posting here earlier and on twitter last night a few times.

I am genuinely ashamed of what is happening to our country, and yesterday has me in shock. I was very uplifted, yet sad, upon reading Pres. Obama's speech, wondering what has been going on with society.

Thank you again!

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

4. Another glaring example that everything the Rs claimed

to object to with President Obama was a blatant lie. That their outrage was based solidly in racism and rank partisanship was always pretty clear to many of us, but it has never been more obvious.

[DesertRat]

8. It's just ridiculous racism

Which only mobilizes and empowers white extremists who, national security experts say, are as big a threat as radical Islamic terrorists.

Contrast Obama's inspiring, motivational back-to-school speech with Trump at the Boy Scout jamboree. Trump sounded like Hitler talking to the nazi youth. LOYALTY.

[G_j]

9. K&R

[gratuitous]

10. No wonder Republicans were outraged

Not once in that entire address is there a coy reference to a hookers-and-blow yacht party. I think it was at this exact moment that America ceased to be great and the country turned its lonely eyes to Donald Trump.

[Warren DeMontague]

11. For Democrats, jaywalking is treated like a felony

For Republicans, felonies are treated like jaywalking.